Remote control devices, or “remote controls”, have long been a standard accessory provided with many consumer electronic devices, such as televisions, television set-top boxes, and audio receivers, to allow a user to control the electronic device from beyond arm's length. Remote control devices have long employed acoustic or infrared signals to communicate with and control the electronic device of interest, thus typically allowing the user to be located across the same room as the electronic device while retaining control of the device. Subsequently, some remote controls began employing ultra-high frequency (UHF) signals to transmit commands to electronic devices, thus significantly extending the user's virtual reach to another room or floor of a building. Such remote control devices are advantageous for controlling electronic devices which may be utilized from a number of different locations of a home, such as television set-top boxes that may be connected to more than one television.
With this extended range comes the possibility that more than one electronic device of the same type may be located within the range of the remote control device, thus possibly causing multiple electronic devices to be controlled by the same commands being transmitted by the remote control device. For example, if two tenants living in separate apartments of the same apartment building use the same type of television set-top box, either of the tenants may inadvertently alter the operation of the other tenant's set-top box, such as changing the current viewing channel, setting a recording timer, and the like.
To prevent such a scenario, the remote control and the electronic device of interest may be associated, or “paired”, with each other so that only the associated electronic device may respond to commands from its paired remote control device. Typically, associating a remote control device with a particular electronic device requires a specific, and sometimes complex, combination of key or button presses involving either or both of the remote control and its related device to prevent accidental association or disassociation of the remote control device by a user. Given the potentially complicated nature of the pairing process, a professional installer is often called upon to perform such a service.